Peninsula enterprise. [volume] (Accomac, Va.) 1881-1965, 1887-10-22
TIE PONIES OF ctllNcoTEAeuE.
son,o Points About Virginia Mugs Noted
Mt mn Annual penninr.

Some Points About NfrCin'h Mugs Noteo
at m Annual Penning.
"IIcra's the pony, gentlemen. Thar air'tno
fi,or traveller on the island Whoa, tharl
tiurn yc!'
che speaker, tall angular chap, with I'M
ke!.,pt hair, cardinal shirt, blue ovcralls
and barcfooted, typical specimen of tho
native, was holding by tho long name
FESTIVE. diminutiye pony, tho raising and
pcnnirg of which has, within the last decade,
made the island of Chincoteague, Va, i'll con-
nectio, with its great oyster deposits, famous
throughout the country. And while he was
vorifc'o,,sy expatiating upon the speeding
Qualities of his charge tho crowd was con-
SANITY augmcnting i'll sze-a curious, hetero-
cenco,s congregation OF people, who came i'll
boats from the Virginia shore and in the cars
f-c.. tho back counties i'll Maryland. This
ysa,s however, the attendance has not becn
confined exclusively to residents OF tho lmne-
diste r..ishborhood, but Philadelphia, New
York, Baltimore and Washington have con-
trieai,s, largely to swell tho crowds from the
ru:a districts. Conspicuous among this
great audience are the colored people, who
rercsa sac event rs holiday and are always
pisSeNs in full force.
These pennings take place annually IN
August, and for weeks great preparations arc
x,atle by the people to attend them. The
avans courier is the corpulcnt colored wo-
man with her toothsome squares of old FASH
Toned gingerbread and spruce beer. The
rauii Development OF iaternal improvements
ana yso hlexerablc march Of progressive in
tel!seuce have somewhat shorn these peil-
ninrs of their ANTIQUE and novel features, but
thcre is still much left to make them pro-
foundly interesting and highly amusing to the
northern, spectator.
1t is almost impossible to learn anything
definite rs to the origin of tue Chincoteague
pony. The Oldest inLabitant cannot give
correct or intelligent version Of whence he
came. They all have their theories, some OF
thom plausible enough i'll their way, but there
is lack OF authenticity i'll these narratives
thnt leave impressions of dubious character.
A great many claim that they are an of
spring OF the pony of the Shetland isles and
must have found their way to ChincoteaSue
from large steamer that WINS wrecked on
the island before it was inhabited. Certain it
is, at ono time they roamed the island i'll vast
numbers, hut when the great storm of forty
years ago devastated the country and Almost
submerged Clncoteague IL came near ami
hiatinS them.
In size. the Chincoteague pony approx
mates that of the Shetland. The hair on
their bodies is thick and shaggy and their
names and tails are long and glossy. They
are strong, hardy little fellows, roaming wild
on the extreme southern end OF the island,
feeding on the hay and tender roots which
grow in luxurious abundance in the salt
marshes bordering on the bay and the At
lan:ic ocean. When they are brought i'll they
ara divided Off into what is known in the
vc,nacular as herds, and each herd has its
own peculiar mark or brand to distinguish it
from tho others and thus obviate the difficulty
OF dispute as to identity and ownership when
corrnlle,l for branding. These branding irons
arc made according to the notion of tho
owner, representing the initials, stars, spear
heads, crosses, etc., and are easily distin-
guisllcd Cor. Philadelphia Times.